KOCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited landslide-ravaged Wayanad to take a first-hand account of the calamity and carried out an aerial survey of the district where landslides claimed hundreds of lives was so pained by the devastation that at the review meeting he said, "This is not an ordinary calamity; it has devastated the dreams of thousands of families."

After interacting with the survivors many of whom were weeping, PM Modi comforted them by placing his hands on the children and told them that he would ensure that the survivor's dreams were not shattered. He arrived at Kannur Airport at about 11 am and boarded an Indian Air Force helicopter to conduct an aerial survey of the landslide-ravaged Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattom hamlets. He was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.

Mentioning that CM Vijayan has told him that a 'detailed memorandum' will be submitted to the central government he said, "I assure you that the country and the Union government will leave no stone unturned. As soon as the details from you come in, whether it is to build houses, schools, or road infrastructure, for the future of children, we will offer full cooperation." He added, "I have myself witnessed the entire thing first-hand, so there is a facility to take decisions too. I assure you that whatever requests the chief minister has, the Union government will try to achieve all those." 

A day ahead of PM Modi's visit to Wayanad, the cabinet sub-committee of the Kerala government met with a central team led by Rajeev Kumar, who is a joint secretary with the Ministry of Home Affairs, visiting the area and sought Rs 2,000 crore in assistance for rehabilitation and relief work in the disaster-stricken region. 

The official records say that the Wayanad landslide and floods the worst calamities to have struck Kerala in the early hours of July 30 have taken a toll of 226 people while over 130 are still missing, however since there is little hope that the missing would be alive the toll could well be over 350 people.